We’re all faced with different kinds of risks every day in our lives. Yet we rarely stop to think about those risks. A new study from Gallup and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation aimed to change that, and the results are striking. The study, called the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, asked 150,000 people in 142 countries about the risks they face in their daily lives. As it turns out, one of the riskiest things most people do every day is simply get up and go to work.

The poll found that nearly one in five workers surveyed said they had been seriously injured on the job at some point. Poll data also showed that 24 percent of everyone who was surveyed said that car accidents were one of their two biggest safety risks. Given that one of the primary reasons many people drive is to commute to and from their jobs, these two data points suggest that going to your job is actually one of the riskiest things you do every day.

Odd Ways That We Look at Risk

The way people evaluate risk is a curious phenomenon. According to a 2019 report in the Chicago Tribune based on Google search activity, Americans’ biggest fears include things like being afraid of needles, heights, bugs, and dark places. Yet many of these fears are largely unfounded.

For instance, while the CDC reports that there were 37,445 deaths due to unintentional falls in one recent year, the vast majority of these deaths don’t involve people falling from the tops of buildings or off of cliffs. Instead, most fall deaths are the result of slip and falls in the home or workplace. The people who die after falling from a great height tend to be young people who take a tumble while trying to get the perfect selfie. (From October 2011 to November 2017, at least 259 people died worldwide while trying to take a selfie, according to one study.)

It’s a similar case with bugs. According to CDC research, there were 1,109 deaths from bee, wasp, and hornet stings in the United States from 2000 to 2017. That’s a fraction of the 655,381 deaths reported in the U.S. due to heart disease. Yet comparatively few people spend their days fretting about an imminent heart attack.

The Riskiest Activities You Can Do

Here’s what the data show about some of the most common causes of death in the U.S.:

  • Accidental injuries of all types killed 167,127 people in the United States in one recent year, according to the CDC.
  • 38,800 people died from car accidents in one recent year, according to the National Safety Council.
  • A Johns Hopkins University study found that medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States.
  • There were 5,250 fatal workplace injuries in one recent year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Don’t Risk Handling a Work Injury Case on Your Own

Although some jobs are inherently risky, workers should expect appropriate safety training and precautions to prevent serious injuries. A workplace injury case isn’t something you should tackle on your own. With the physical and financial toll these injuries can take, you need an experienced workplace injury lawyer on your side to help you demand the full compensation you deserve.

The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian™ has been helping Houston workers since 2014. Call us or visit our contact page to schedule your free initial consultation.